Majority Of Rhode Islanders Support Marriage Equality

February 23, 2011 11:46 am ET
- by Carlos Maza

A majority of Rhode
Islanders are in favor of marriage equality, according to a new poll
from Public Policy Poling
(PPP). 50% of respondents were in favor of "allow(ing) gay and lesbian couples
to marry legally," while 41% were opposed (9% with no opinion).

Unsurprisingly, the
poll results demonstrated that marriage equality is still largely a generational
issue, with younger voters strongly in favor of allowing gay and lesbian
couples to marry. From the PPP blog:

Rhode Island is another state where this breaks down very much as a
generational issue. Only senior citizens, by a 48/39 margin, are opposed to
legalizing same sex marriage. Young voters (under 30) support it 62/31, and
middle aged voters (31 to 65) favor it by a 51/42 spread. It's not going to be
too long before the simple aging of the US population produces a lasting
pro-gay marriage majority. The people who are opposed to it are gradually dying
out and being replaced in the electorate by voters who are perfectly
comfortable with it.

The poll's results
are even more encouraging when one considers the method by which PPP conducts
its surveys. Public Policy Polling relies on automated polling - polls in which
a person presses a button on a phone keypad instead of talking to a real person.
According to Tom Jensen, director of PPP, this approach tends to deflate public
opinion of LGBT issues. From a previous PPP blog
entry:

Why the disparity between automated and live interviewer polls on gay
marriage? Americans are still biased against gay people...but some of them know
that's wrong and they shouldn't be. Because of that they're more likely to tell
their true feelings on an automated poll where there's no social anxiety
concern than to a live interviewer who they may be worried about the reaction
of.

The poll results should
help guide state legislators currently considering a proposed bill
to legalize same-sex marriage. As the PPP blog post concludes:

If Rhode Island legislators want to stay on the right side of public
opinion they'll pass the bill.